The Franklin Flyer

Mark Your Calendars:

March 7: Spring Conferences

March 8: No School

March 19: No School

March 15: PTA - Donuts with my V.I.P. Spring Edition 8:00 - 8:40 AM

March 25 - April 1: Spring Breakt

April 11: 24-25 Kindergarten Parent Orientation 6:00-6:45 PM & PTA Meeting 7-8 PM - in person & Zoom

April 23: STREAM Night 3:40 - 5:30 PM

Absences

Please remember to call in or email absences by 8:45 AM. You can call our student absence line (847) 318-4390 (ext 1) is available 24 hours a day, or email Mrs. Linda Berleth at lberleth@d64.org.

If the absence is illness related, please also make sure to include Franklin's nurse, Mrs. Queta Karstens, at qkarstens@d64.org.

Franklin Office Hours
School office hours are from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

School Hours

School Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 3:30 pm

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 12:05 - 1:00

Wednesday School Hours: 8:50 am - 2:40 pm

Wednesday Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Lunch: 11:05 - 12:00

Wednesday 4th and 5th Grade Lunch: 11:35 - 12:30

Half-Day Kindergarten Hours

Kindergarten Hours (M, T, Th, F): 8:50 am - 11:35 am

Kindergarten Wednesday: 8:50 am - 11:05 am

End of the Kiss and Go - March 7th

After collaboration and consideration between Franklin, Franklin PTA, and Park Ridge Police Department, it has been determined that the Kiss & Go along Dee is not sustainable and impacts traffic patterns too significantly to continue. The Kiss & Go will end on March 7th. Starting March 11th, the section along Dee will return to attended parking as it has been previously. We appreciate the support form the community and collaborative efforts to trial this as an option for arrival.

IAR Testing for 3rd - 5th Graders

The Illinois Assessment of Readiness Test, an assessment for all students in Illinois in grades 3-8, will be administered in District 64 from March 11-March 22.

The best preparation for the IAR has been the quality instruction our teachers have provided this school year. However, there are things you can also do to promote your child’s success:

• Make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep and eats a healthy breakfast before each day of testing.

• Provide your child with words of encouragement. While we don’t want our students to feel anxious about any assessment, we do want them to do their best.

• The IAR is an online assessment and students will be using their Chromebooks to complete these tests. Please make sure your child brings his or her Chromebook to school each day, fully charged.

Below is our school’s schedule:

Monday, March 11: Math Test 1

Tuesday, March 12: ELA Test 1

Wednesday, March 13: Math Test 2

Thursday, March 14: ELA Test 2

Friday, March 15: Math Test 3

2024-2025 Schooling Plans

If your family will not be returning to Franklin for the 2024-2025, please reach out to Mrs. Williams at kwilliams@d64.org.

STREAM Night Registration LINK

Join us for a fun family event to explore our theme "A Dig Into the Past." Some of the opportunities include creating ancient instruments, rocks and minerals, an escape room challenge, decorating a pet rock, cores of the Earth, Egyptian math, and more!

Each student may bring ONE rock or mineral to be identified
by Dr. Turner of Triton College. There will be prizes! There will be goodie bags! There will be fun! Registration is open March 1-March 22. All students must attend with an adult.

Please send a change of clothes with your children for all K-5 students. It is helpful to have a change of clothes in the event of spilled water, accidents, or an unexpected incidents. Clothes should be labeled with your child's name and can be kept in your child's locker.

For the health and safety of our students and community, no pets are allowed on school property. We realize the beautiful weather increases the amount of families who are walking. However, we ask that you please leave your dog or cat at home. Properly identified service animals are always permitted.

Please take a moment to review the contacts section of your ParentPortal. Any adult who has approval for after school pick-up or emergency pick-up for illness/injury should be listed. Franklin staff will not release students to adults who are not listed on the ParentPortal.

Chromebooks

As a reminder, each Franklin student will be issued an iPad (grades K-1) or a Chromebook computer (grades 2-5) as part of the District’s one-to-one digital learning program. Students will receive their devices during the first week of school. Your child will also be assigned a Google account to access Google Apps for Education and other digital resources at school and to explore further concepts introduced in class at home. The devices and their applications are technology tools that provide all students access to digital content and higher levels of individualized instruction.

You can find more information about the 1:1 Initiative, Chromebooks, and the other technologies available to our students here.

Drop-off of Student Items/Lunches

If your student forgets something at home, an adult may drop off items at the Franklin front office. Our front office staff will message the classroom for your student to pick up these items during a break in student instruction. The teacher will send the student to the office when it works best in the classroom schedule.

Visiting Franklin

All visitors to Franklin must have a valid state ID or driver’s license. Identification is entered into the Raptor identification system. This process only takes a short time to complete. Once you have clearance, the office staff will print a visitor pass for you and attach it to a lanyard you must wear throughout the building. The office will hold your ID until you return to the office and return the lanyard. We appreciate your support as we proceed with this district-mandated safety procedure for the safety of our students.

Student-Parent Handbook
Franklin Elementary School and all District 64 schools follow policies and practices reviewed and implemented by the District 64 Board of Education. Please review the D64 Student-Parent Handbook before the start of the school year.

You can find frequent updates or snapshots from our days at Franklin on Facebook and Instagram! Follow us at

Facebook: facebook.com/FranklinD64

Instagram: franklin.d64

We still need a few volunteers for upcoming events! Sign up in PTA Membership Toolkit!

• March 15: Spring Donuts with my VIP: A quick, easy, and yummy volunteer opportunity! Help with set-up, clean-up and passing out donuts (and coffee!). More event info below.
• April 23: First STREAM Night at Franklin: This event is being run by our wonderful LRC team and they will set up the stations and provide instructions for volunteers. They are also looking for hallway directors and welcome directors - these would be people, who could point visitors to specific classrooms and stations, as well as provide welcome information to families as they come in.
• Volunteer shifts are only 20 minutes long and were designed to do as a family so that you can also then enjoy the rest of the event and visit the other stations.
• Reach out to Ms. Wilson with questions: vwilson@d64.org, more info below.

Night of the Stars is Back for 2024!

We’re so excited to be able to showcase the many talents of our Franklin stars! Mark your calendars for the following dates and look out for an email from Mrs. Williams next week with details on how to sign up for performances.

• Tryouts: Wednesday, April 10, 2:40 - 5:00 PM - Franklin Multi-Purpose Room
• Rehearsal: Wednesday, April 24, 4:00 - 6:00 PM - Emerson Middle School
• Night of the Stars: Friday, April 26, 6:30 - 8:30 PM - Emerson Middle School

Calling all Artists for the Franklin Yearbook Contest

We know how much talent we have here at our school and it’s time to create this year’s Yearbook Cover!

• Who: All Franklin students are invited to participate

• What: Yearbook cover with the theme “Joy in the Journey”

• When: All entries due to office by March 7th NO EXCEPTIONS!

Please see below for more details and direct any additional questions to danabozeday@gmail.com.

Yearbook Photos

Our kids LOVE seeing themselves at all of the fun events throughout the year in the yearbook. Please make sure to submit photos from each of these events.

Email photos for each of the following categories to the specific link below:

GLAM Club: notification.photos.298362892@treeringphotos.com

Chess Club: notification.photos.298362889@treeringphotos.com

100th Day of School: notification.photos.313532031@treeringphotos.com

Band/orchestra: notification.photos.298362884@treeringphotos.com

Book Club: notification.photos.298362888@treeringphotos.com

Girl Scouts: notification.photos.298362865@treeringphotos.com

Science Olympiad: notification.photos.313520763@treeringphotos.com

Valentine's Class Parties: notification.photos.298362871@treeringphotos.com

Staff Lunches

The PTA offers teachers and staff members an option to purchase lunch on Mondays from Spuntinos via franklinpta.membershiptoolkit.com. Families are always welcome to show their appreciation for a staff member by purchasing a Monday lunch on their behalf. If this is something your family is interested in doing, please refer to Membership Toolkit for more information. Questions about teacher and staff lunches can be directed to rebeccavanpoucke@gmail.com.